Promise
by Phantom Shyraz
Summary: (Poirot Cafe Prompt Exchange) Shinichi always keeps his promises despite it not being in the form that Ran expected. That or Ran is more observant than everyone gives her credit for.


**-PROMISE-**

Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

Prompt: Heiji pretends to be Shinichi for Ran. Ran knows but plays along. Can be either friendship or romantic.

A/N: Bittersweet romance and I ran out of ideas for the title.

* * *

"Yo!" Shinichi greeted at the door of the Mouri detective agency one fine spring afternoon. Though his long sleeves, turtle neck, and scarf really did not match the current climate.

"Shinichi?" Ran asked hesitantly, approaching the door in small shuffling steps. "Are you back for good?"

"As good as I can make it." Shinichi admitted.

"Do you have a cold or something?" Ran reached up to attempt to tug at the facemask.

"Yea…" Shinichi let out a string of small coughs. "Caught a virus while chasing a killer at night. Nothing serious."

"Then what are you doing here you idiot. You should be at home resting." She admonished, this time she motioned for Shinichi to enter the room as she went to the kitchens to bring out drinks. But she was stopped mid-action. "Shinichi?"

"Before I forget." Shinichi held out a neatly wrapped gift. "It's your birthday isn't it?"

Ran did not forget today, though she had nothing in particular planned with the exception of the night's dinner with her parents. She had intended to celebrate with Sonoko but her boyfriend came back for a surprise visit so Ran did not feel right to interrupt.

"You of all people actually remembered?" Ran giggled, graciously accepting the gift. It was her 18th birthday, a significant day that she had not expected Shinichi to be here, instead expecting him to call to wish her a happy birthday, seeing as he disappeared for nearly a year. "You who can't even remember his own birthday actually remembered mine?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad now am I? I just never see the significance in my own birthday. And have you seen what my mother generally comes up with? I'd be more than happy to forget those experiences!"

"Yukiko-chan sure knows how to party though. I remembered she invited that magician all those years ago when we were kids like Conan's age…" She smiled at the faint memory. She might have forgotten the name of the magician but she remembered some of his tricks. They were all very beautiful, with butterflies and glitter. But if she remembered correctly, most of the glitter actually attached itself to Shinichi, who had tried to shake off but was stuck for the rest of the party.

"Speaking of the kid, where is he? Isn't he staying with you?" Shinichi asked, looking around the room. It was strange to Ran seeing as Shinichi always knew everything about Conan, and vice-versa.

"He left a few months ago, his mother came back to pick him up now that everything's settled down for them. They're in the States I think." Ran carefully looked at her gift, a small rectangular box wrapped with blue paper with bright red ribbon entwined. "Can I…?" She motioned the box at Shinichi.

"Go ahead. Though not sure if it's to your liking." Shinichi leaned on the doorway.

Ran carefully pulled out the ribbon then unwrapped the paper. Lifting the lid to the box, it revealed a leather bound diary with an orchid burned into the cover. She bit her lips. "You've forgotten…" She muttered softly under her breath so Shinichi could not hear her.

"You don't like it?" Shinichi approached her, placing an arm on her shoulders.

Ran shook her head and smiled up at Shinichi. "Thanks." Carefully, she took the gift and placed it in her room.

"So...do you have anything planned as a celebration?" He broke the strange silence that was hanging between them.

"I'm having dinner with my parents. Kazuha, you know the girl that's always with Hattori, not sure if you've met her, she said she'll be taking the evening train to Tokyo and would be staying here for the night. We're going out tomorrow morning as a celebration." Ran detailed her plan. "Sonoko said she'll be tagging along tomorrow, do you want to come?"

"I'm hearing this to be a girl's day out, not exactly appropriate for me to join now is it?" It wasn't a flat-out refusal but it was close.

"Hattori would be there, so would Kyougoku-san, Sonoko's boyfriend." Ran tries to insist. "So?"

"Not this time. I've got some errands to run tomorrow."

"With a cold like yours?"

"All the more reason not to join then."

"Then you better make it up to me today!" Ran beamed at Shinichi as she went to grab her coat. "And this time, we're not going to a theme park!"

"Why not? They're fun…"

"No Theme Park!" Ran locked the door as she pushed Shinichi out into the staircase.

"Fine. Movie?" He suggested as they walked down the path.

Ran shook her head as she tries to come up with a reason.

"Then what do you suggest?" They stopped at the intersection, waiting for the lights to turn green. Shinichi was quite silent and patient today, not that it was a bad thing, only it was something Ran was not used to. By now, normally Shinichi would have easily read her mind and brought her to a location she would least expect as a surprise. He had always been like that, act instead of speaking out.

"Surprise me." Ran challenged. Shinichi humphed before turning back towards the crossing.

Shinichi took them down to Tokyo Station, stating there was a dessert buffet that Ran would most likely have been eyeing for the past month. Ran pulled out a smile, not quite reaching her eyes, but she enjoyed the food all the same. It was unlike Shinichi not to tease Ran as they ate.

"Ne…" Ran poked at the cheesecake in front of her. Shinichi looked up from his Mocha cake. "You…" Ran stopped halfway, shaking her head to clear out her thought. "Nevermind. What have you planned for next?" She did not want this date to go to waste.

"Hm...walk around a bit?" Shinichi asked hesitantly as he surveyed the area for anything of interest. His eyes fell briefly on a sports shop but he said nothing.

Ran knows she should be suspicious but she let it go as well, hoping to at least enjoy the moment. She nodded in approval.

They looked at various window displays, from time to time, Shinichi would disappear into the crowds only to reappear with drinks in hand or little trinkets of some kind to give to Ran. Ran had fun, though she could not dispel the nagging voice in her head saying this was not meant to be. That this is all a dream.

"Did you have fun?" Shinichi asked, presenting a chocolate-strawberry crepe to Ran sitting on the bench in Beika Park. They returned just before sunset so Ran could meet up with her parents. "Today is supposed to be about you."

"Of course. I'd never expected…" Ran sighed, eyeing the sweet confectionary. "You really didn't have to Hattori-kun."

"So you realised." Hattori tore off the face mask and the subsequent silicon mask hiding his dark skin. "When?"

"From the beginning. You've never called me by name." Ran looked up into the clouds, as the sky turned orange, she couldn't help but feel slightly depressed.

"Dang, and 'ere I thought I did a good job." Hattori let out a strangled laugh. "But I'm sure that's not all that gave me away."

"No. But that's one of the things. Shinichi would generally surprise me rather than let me choose, especially on significant days like my birthdays and as celebration. Never the same thing twice." Ran let out a small smile as she recalled her last trip with Shinichi to Tropical Land. He had planned everything from the start even though it was Ran who coerced Shinichi into treating her to the trip. "He'd always go out of his way to make it special."

"Huh. Never would've pegged Kudo to be a romantic."

"And he'd generally go for coffee or tangy flavoured food, avoiding sweets whenever he can."

"Ah, guess I messed up on that part." Hattori scratched his cheeks in embarrassment. Ran hid a laugh behind her crepe. "Who doesn't like sweets."

"That or he'll start stealing my food just to tease me." Her gaze fell back on the strawberry adorning the crepe.

Hattori widened his eyes. "Bit bold isn't he?" He commented, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice.

"He'd be the first to pull me around, bring me to places instead of me leading. It's always been like that." She took a bite, savouring the sweetness, but it was more bittersweet than sweet. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the memories that kept resurfacing or the actual crepe in her hands. "Once he finds something interesting, he'd lead me up to it, talk my head off before I threatened to karate chop him. Then he'd apologise or tease me, depending on whether I hit him or not."

"Seriously? That Kudo?" Hattori looked at her in disbelief. "I can understand if it was 'bout Holmes."

"Holmes, yes, but he would go on about things he'd see on the street, comment on the waitstaff in the restaurant, all sorts of tidbits of information really. I guess he's mind could never stop…" Peering down at the wrapping paper now devoid of its content, she tightened her hold and decided to ask the question that's been plaguing her. "How is he?" She whispered.

"Kudo made me promised to make today happy for ya. He'd chew me out if ya're depressed." Hattori took both their garbage to the nearby trashcan.

"Please." Ran looked up with watery eyes. It had been so long since she last heard of Shinichi. And now, without Conan to distract her, she couldn't help but worry more for the idiotic detective.

"He's…" Hattori considered whether to lie or tell the truth. Ran's hopeful eyes bore into his guilty conscience. "He'll be fine. The doc is looking out for him. He'll pull through."

Ran was patient, she would wait for Shinichi to tell her the reason why he disappeared so instead of pushing for answers, she wiped away the tears threatening to fall out.

"Thanks Hattori-kun. I won't ask you to tell me where he is or what he's doing. But do tell him I'll probably kick him into a lightpole the next time I see him."

"I think he'd expect tha'. He'd been quite vocal 'bout you probably exacting some sort of physical injury on 'im when he shows his face to ya." Hattori managed to draw out a laugh from Ran. Not a musical, carefree laugh, but a small snicker to show some amusement even if her eyes were still dim with worry.

"Then at least he'll have something to look forward to." Ran smiled and turned to walk back to the agency, leaving Hattori in the park. Before she walked out of the park's boundary, she called back to Hattori. "And one more thing, Shinichi had promised me a special gift to commemorate my Coming of Age. That I think is the biggest giveaway." She waved back at the standing Osakan detective.

She walked back to the agency in silence. It was not that she was looking forward to the special gift, but more to do with seeing the detective in person. "At least you somehow kept one of your promises. You did say you'll turn up to all my birthdays regardless of where you'll be." Ran smiled. Although she wasn't able to see Shinichi this year, he did send a proxy. She might not have heard him say Happy Birthday in person, but his thoughts of her came through in his actions.

"And as they say, it's the thought that counts."

Standing at the base of the steps leading up to the Agency, she looked up in the darkened sky.

"I expect to you see in person next time." She muttered softly under her breath before turning towards the stairs to get ready for tonight's dinner.

 **-END-**


End file.
